Chapter 121: Can You Eat It?
The same news arrived continuously through different channels in a short time, confirming the authenticity of the intelligence from various aspects. BIG·MOM’s mood was at its worst. Kaido, that flash-in-the-pan bastard, actually allied with the Black Prince kid so easily, and it hadn’t even been twelve hours!
Last time, she at least fought Elus for more than two days. This time······ she had been badly screwed over.
Even though the battle with the Pirate Guerilla Squad had already gained the upper hand, she knew that if she continued to entangle relentlessly, when Elus that kid arrived, things would not end well. She did not yet have the intention to go to war with the Eckmond Kingdom.
“Zephyr! Get out of my way.”
BIG·MOM swung the great sword in her hand. The great sword wrapped in flames collided with Zephyr’s fist. Although it did not break through the defense of Armament Haki with the sword edge, that monstrous freakish strength made Zephyr involuntarily step back. BIG·MOM, seizing the opportunity, launched a combo attack.
Zephyr was forced off the Queen Mama Chanter and returned to the deck of his flagship.
Well, saying he was forced back was not entirely accurate. If Zephyr really wanted to stay on the Queen Mama Chanter and fight a positional battle with BIG·MOM, it was not impossible. But he had also heard that news and immediately understood why BIG·MOM suddenly changed her fighting style—not trying to take his life with every move like before, but switching to expulsion.
From this change, he realized that BIG·MOM had lost her offensive spirit. Zephyr responded accordingly, cooperatively leaving the Queen Mama Chanter. Not only that, upon returning to his flagship, he immediately found a messenger to relay the new orders at the fastest speed.
The situation on the battlefield changed again.
The warships and pirate ships that were originally entangled separated clearly into two major camps facing off. Coincidentally, both sides maintained sufficient restraint, with no one firing cannons at the other. Whether pirates or the Pirate Guerilla Squad, everyone restrained their desire to attack.
However, compared to the solemn and strict momentum on the Pirate Guerilla Squad side, the Beasts Pirates from top to bottom no longer had the previous fierce, raging momentum like blazing fire. Although it could not be said that their morale was low, it was clear that a lot of their sharpness had been worn away. Clearly, their side had gained the upper hand, yet they were ordered to hold back and not pursue the victory.
This was very demoralizing, especially for the pirates who relied on their sharpness to rampage without restraint. No one liked such a situation.
“Mom!”
Cracker came to BIG·MOM’s side—his true body still hidden inside the biscuit man’s shell. Through the biscuit man’s shell, he looked with no small amount of worry at Mom, who was holding a great sword, disheveled, with a turbid and gloomy aura like a demon descending into the world. He was very worried that the enraged Mom might suddenly have an outbreak.
Without Brother Katakuri in command, he had little confidence in stopping Mom’s outbreak with just Snack’s help.
“Cracker, pass the order down. We’re leaving here.”
“Ah? Yes! Mom.”
He did not care much about the victory or defeat of this battle, and they had not lost anyway. It was just that the original plan failed due to uncontrollable variables. Compared to that, he cared more that Mom did not have an outbreak and maintained a clear mind, which made him quietly breathe a sigh of relief.
Snack stood nearby, watching Brother Cracker issue orders, but his mood was not as relaxed as Cracker’s.
Having finally entered the ranks of the Generals, he had mustered all his strength to prepare for a big fight, intending to prove to Mom, his brothers and sisters, and everyone watching him that he truly deserved to bear the title of General. He saw this opportunity as a stage to show his prowess.
However, before he could even show off, the stage had collapsed.
“Can only look for another opportunity.”
Snack was not so easily discouraged. This small setback was quickly thrown to the back of his mind as he began anticipating a new stage.
······
Torrential rain poured down, and the Beasts Pirates’ fleet gradually receded into the wind and rain.
“Teacher Zephyr, not pursuing?”
Isca, carrying her sword and using Geppo, rushed over from the nearby ship. She looked somewhat disheveled, with many wounds visible under her tattered sleeves. Dark red bloodstains had dyed the sleeves a different color. Facing an opponent like Cracker, who could crush ordinary Vice Admirals, she had still been at a disadvantage.
The miracle brought by the Hogyoku directly elevated her swordsmanship to the Swordsman Realm. The Armament Haki that had always lingered at the doorstep also directly entered the hall. Originally just a Navy Headquarters Second Lieutenant, after accepting the miracle bestowed by the Hogyoku, she could now rival ordinary Vice Admirals at Navy Headquarters.
However,
this was ultimately just an ordinary Vice Admiral.
Cracker was a long-renowned General of the Beasts Pirates. Among the Navy Headquarters’ Vice Admiral ranks, aside from the freak Garp and Vice Admiral Tsuru, even the two General candidates might not dare say they had full confidence in defeating Cracker.
For Isca to hold back Cracker’s offensive steps was already an impressive achievement.
“Pursuing would be useless.” Zephyr shook his head.
Isca was speechless. Indeed!
Pursuing······ would be useless. It might even enrage BIG·MOM and lead to another major battle, sacrificing more people. Though she hated pirates, she was not so obstinate as to fail to see the gap between enemy and ally.
She was silent for a few seconds, then said, “Teacher Zephyr, Your Highness and Beasts ceased fighting not long ago and are currently negotiating with Beasts.” Her identity was a Navy Colonel of the Eckmond Kingdom Navy, initially just a Second Lieutenant, but with her current strength, after wiping out several pirate crews, she was promoted to Navy Colonel in the kingdom’s navy.
This was already the third-highest rank in the Eckmond Kingdom Navy system.
Above that were Senior Colonel and General.
With her current status, plus being a confidant personally recruited by Elus, her intelligence was very up-to-date. During her fierce battle with Cracker, the Den Den Mushi rang for a while. After Cracker withdrew, she answered it on her way to the flagship and learned what had happened on Elus’s side.
“Negotiating?”
Zephyr narrowed his eyes, offering no opinion.
If it were the old him, he would certainly disapprove of negotiating with pirates. Now······ he still disapproved. But who let Elus that kid cure his malignancy and continuously provide him with logistical aid? Plus, he understood Elus’s lack of agency.
New World,
In this place, it was impossible not to deal with pirates.
So many World Government Member Nations hung Whitebeard’s flag, BIG·MOM’s flag, Red-Haired’s flag······ yet the Holy Land did not expel all these member nations. Even the World Government officials understood that the New World was hard to mix in.
As long as they did not blatantly raise flags in defiance of the World Government, the higher-ups would not bother picking fights idly.
Zephyr also knew that fighting Beasts to the death was impossible; negotiation was the inevitable outcome.
“Ain, Binz, well done.”
Zephyr turned and saw his two students staggering over. Seeing Ain and Binz return intact, the old man’s suspended heart settled. Of that ship of new recruits back then, only these two survived. The guilt for the dead students involuntarily shifted onto Ain and Binz.
“Teacher, sorry. That Snack is very skilled; we could only hold him off.”
Ain lowered her head somewhat ashamedly.
She and Binz together could barely block one Snack, especially since Isca, who was about the same age as her, had single-handedly held off Cracker. People feared comparisons the most. After comparing herself to Isca, Ain felt deeply uneasy, thinking she had let down Teacher’s earnest guidance and made no progress all these years.
Binz was taciturn; with Ain speaking, he usually stayed quiet, standing silently to the side like a wooden man.
“Ain, you did very well.”
Zephyr warmly comforted his discouraged student.
“At your age, having such skill is already very good. Don’t compare yourself to others. The goal of our training and cultivation is to surpass ourselves, not to compete with others.” Moreover, some people were incomparable.
The old man did not say the last part out loud.
As a renowned master teacher at Navy Headquarters, he had taught many outstanding students. But only he himself knew that the outstanding ones were never due to him. He did not have the ability to turn trash into geniuses; he was just better at guiding and excavating his students’ potential.
In the end, it was the students who had decent aptitude to begin with. What he did was merely to let these students reveal their raw jade essence earlier and more comprehensively.
Ain’s and Binz’s talents were only mid-to-upper among the students he had taught. Not to mention freaks like Borsalino and Kuzan, even second-tier geniuses were not something Ain and Binz could match. Without any accidents, their future achievements would likely stop at Vice Admiral.
Of course, without any accidents.
Zephyr’s gaze drifted to Isca, who was also once his student. Unlike Ain and Binz, Isca had trained under Zephyr with many others. In his view, Isca’s talent was similar to Ain’s, and without the boost from a Devil Fruit, she was strictly speaking inferior to Ain.
Yet now, Isca already possessed Vice Admiral-level combat power.
Comparing to the memory of meeting at Navy Headquarters, Isca had undergone earth-shaking changes. This was not something achievable through step-by-step training; it must have been an extraordinary accident that caused Isca’s transformative progress.
It was not hard to imagine that this accident likely came from Elus.
“Elus······” Zephyr narrowed his eyes, gazing far into the southwest. He felt as if a thick fog shrouded everything before him, covering his eyes and preventing him from seeing Elus’s true depths.
————
Deserted Island, Port.
The storm stirred up by human power lost its sustained force and quickly dissipated. The dense clouds over the sky slowly parted, and clear, bright moonlight fell on the deck. In the basin-sized wine urn, the clear alcohol took on a touch of silvery-white moonlight.
“Good alcohol! Good alcohol! Giant Race alcohol is indeed potent!”
Kaido sat cross-legged on the deck, holding that excessively large wine urn and gulping it down.
“Your Excellency, as long as you like it.”
Elus said with a smile.
Fran, standing at the side, lifted an equally huge wine urn and poured into Kaido’s empty cup. This display of strength made even Kaido look twice, and then······ this governor of the Beasts Pirates, who cherished talent and liked recruiting powerful combatants—even enemies, as long as they were willing to join, would be taken in without grudge—once again felt the urge to recruit talent.
“Little girl, want to join my pirate crew? I can give you a General position.”
Kaido poached right in front of Elus.
Elus rolled his eyes.
“Sorry, I’m just a little maid. Such a valuable position as General should be left for more capable people!” Fran rejected decisively.
Kaido smacked his lips in regret. He was not putting on an act; with his eyesight, he could tell at a glance Fran’s strength. She was a strong person not inferior to his Generals. If not for the location, he really wanted to pull Fran into the Beasts Pirates.
What a pity; this was the Black Prince’s ship.
Mentioning it once was fine, but endless entanglement might annoy the Black Prince and lead to resuming the previous fierce battle.
At this moment, a maid quietly approached Elus’s side, whispered a few words, and hurriedly withdrew.
“BIG·MOM has left.”
Elus did not hide it and directly stated the news just conveyed by the maid.
“About five minutes ago, BIG·MOM’s fleet left my kingdom.”
“She’s always been like that, loving to take advantage and never suffering a loss.” Kaido sneered, but that was just one mocking remark before changing the topic. “Kid, your alcohol is good, but now it’s about time you gave me an explanation.”
He widened his eyes, staring at Elus, his demonic, terrifying aura unrestrainedly emanating.
In the corner of the deck, Dillon and Jack were also sitting opposite each other drinking. With the battle between Elus and Kaido temporarily halted, they naturally had no reason to continue fighting. Jack did not return to his tattered Mammoth but followed Kaido onto Elus’s flagship.
Of course, him and Dillon drinking opposite each other did not mean they had built rapport; Dillon just saw Jack as a dangerous factor that needed constant watching.
Thus, this scene unfolded.
As the atmosphere between Elus and Kaido shifted, the atmosphere between them also changed accordingly.
“If—and I mean if! If I could provide you with Zoan Devil Fruits, a large number of Zoan Devil Fruits, I wonder if you could handle that?” Elus said leisurely.
